Creepy Cousin
by LetoDragon
Summary: Chelsea's cousin has come to the island after her parent's death. Chelsea has been appointed to look after her until she is either 21 or married. I suck at summaries :P Chelsea x Denny, Vaughn x OC


Harvest Moon

Arrival

The ferry pulled in around noon, the waters around it churning. Chelsea waited on the dock anxiously, holding her husband's, Denny's, hand tightly. Denny gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, looking down at her with his usual jubilant smile. "Don't worry, babe. She'll be fine. You should at least be happy that she didn't arrive like you did." He laughed lightly, trying to make Chelsea less tense. Chelsea released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

"Yeah, you're right. I still can't help but be worried for her. She's the only relative I have right now." A somber tone entered her voice and she looked down, remembering the occurrences of the past week.

She'd received several phone calls and letters detailing a matter of great importance: the death of two of her last surviving relatives, her aunt and her uncle. They'd apparently died in a car crash, and it was in their will that Chelsea would take care of their daughter, Mireli, until she turned twenty-one or married since Chelsea's parents had died already. Their family had never been close, the relatives choosing to remain distant and only talk when someone passed away or gave birth. Though the deaths of both Chelsea's aunt and uncle had come at a surprise; she'd expected her first 'child' to be one she had with Denny, not a cousin that was a sort of inheritance.

Nonetheless, she would take Mireli into her care; it was her duty as an older cousin and Mireli's last living relative. They were moving Mireli into the inn. Even though Mireli preferred to be secluded, Chelsea felt she should socialize more, and the inn was just the place. People and tourists were always moving in and out of there. If worse came to worse, they would move her into Denny's old home.

Chelsea was brought back to reality when she heard Denny say, "Look, here she comes! You guys don't look very alike." Chelsea looked up and instantly raised her hand, smiling and waving at Mireli.

"We may not look alike, but she's beautiful in her own way!" Mireli wasn't very like Chelsea: instead of having straight, honey colored hair, she had long curling brown hair. The tan that Chelsea sported was nowhere to be seen on her, since she had pale skin, the results of her sleeping during the day and roaming around at night. While Chelsea wore spring and summer colors, Mireli wore dark colors. They were almost stark opposites, and it was almost unbelievable that they were relatives since they also acted so differently.

Mireli finally walked up to Chelsea and Denny, her hazel eyes half lidded behind her glasses. She really wanted to go to sleep as she usually did during the day. "Hullo, Chelsea," she said sleepily, turning towards Denny. "Who's this?"

Chelsea smiled warmly and looked at Denny. "This is my husband, Denny. We were married just this year."

"That's very nice," said Mireli plainly, as though she had known it for the entirety of her life. "May I ask where I'll be staying? This trip has tired me, and besides that I should have gone to bed at about nine this morning. I'm kind of nocturnal, though it may be strange." Chelsea furrowed her eyebrows. She'd known her cousin was strange, but not this strange. Nocturnal? Chelsea couldn't imagine walking around at night and sleeping during the day when there was so much to do!

"Well… that's nice. Can you come over at about eight later today for dinner with us? Or… I'll make you breakfast instead."

"That'd be wonderful," said Mireli. "Shall we go?" Denny and Chelsea walk off ahead of Mireli, exchanging looks as they lead her to the inn. Denny was wondering if Chelsea was ever like Mireli; but he couldn't imagine her avoiding others and acting like a vampire. It seemed too strange for Chelsea, who was always bubbly and happy, while Mireli seemed more… well, gothic.

They finally reached the inn and were grateful especially Chelsea and Denny. They weren't accustomed to the awkward silence that had followed them, and the calmness with which Mireli accepted it. They'd both expected her to be a little more talkative and happy for a teenager, even if she had just lost her parents. Most of the time people would try to deny the fact that something so tragic had happened, but that didn't seem to be the case with Mireli. She seemed to have accepted and come to terms with it.

Inside the inn, it was the usual hustle and bustle of people coming and going. Carol was extremely busy at the front, checking people in and out as usual. There were a few permanent residents at the inn, or some that left and came back at a certain time. One such person was Mark, who was currently sitting and sipping coffee in the table set up in front of the doors. He noticed Chelsea when she walked in and waved happily, setting down his cup. "Chelsea, Denny!" he called out, standing and firmly taking Denny's hand and chest bumping him. "Who's the pretty lady?" he asked casually, expecting Mireli to blush.

She didn't. She walked past him and got in line behind the others at the front desk, anxious to get out of the busy room. She wanted to go into her room and be the solitary person she was meant to. As soon as she came to the front of the line, she said quietly, "Hernandez, Mireli. I'm Chelsea's cousin, I should have a room ready."

Carol nodded, her red hair flying about as she pulled out papers and documents and keys. She finally pulled out the right paper, let Mireli sign it, and handed Mireli the key to room seven in the uppermost right hallway. "Thank you," said Mireli, putting a few pieces of G into the tip jar on the table. She was about to rush away when Chelsea called after her.

"Mireli, wait up! Let me introduce you to Mark, he lives here too!" Mireli set her bags down next to the corner of the front counter, then slowly walked back to the awaiting three. Mark was raising one blonde eyebrow above his emerald green eye, his pink lips curled into a smirk.

"A loner, aren't you?" he asked once she'd neared him.

"Very much so; and I'm rather nocturnal, so let's make this quick and pleasant. I am Mireli, from the mainland. My birthday is winter tenth, and my favorite colors are black and white and red, since I rather like blood. My parents recently passed away in a car crash, and I can't inherit anything until I'm twenty one or married, and until then I will reside here with myself and occasionally visit my lovely cousin, Chelsea. Farewell." Mireli turned on her heel and walked briskly away. Mark raised his eyebrows again and said a quick goodbye, following after Mireli. He intended to bother her.

Chelsea and Denny smiled and turned to leave, glad that someone else would at least try to watch over Mireli. They were also glad they would have a few hours alone: there were lots of things husbands and wives could do in that time.

Mark finally caught up to Mireli and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back. "Wait a minute there, Mireli. I really should help you out with all those heavy bags."

"My bags aren't heavy; I'm sure I can handle this on my own."

"I insist," replied Mark, and with that, he scooped up all three of Mireli's bags and walked away to the left. "Where to?" he called, "What room are you in?"

Mireli began walking the other way, key in hand. "Seven." Mark turned around immediately and followed after her, his smile not fazed in the least. In fact, it may have even grown.

"Well then guess what? We're neighbors!" Mireli sighed; she supposed she should be happy to have such a willing friend already, but he was also very annoying. She would have to learn how to deal with him; she was confident she could.

They made it to room seven quickly, and Mireli opened and held the door open for Mark quickly. Mark dumped her bags down onto the ground as Mireli examined her new home. There was one window, right over her bed on the left wall, a table with a mirror attached to it midway through the room, with a stool placed in front of it, and a large mahogany dresser next to the smaller dresser. Mireli was glad that everything came in shades of black white and gray, as she had requested it. Her bed sheets were white, while her pillow was gray, and her comforter was black. A heavy black curtain framed the window. The two dressers were white, and the walls had been painted a rosy red color. Mireli thought it was a nice touch though she hadn't mentioned that.

There was also a door on the right wall, which Mireli assumed lead to the bathroom. "Hope you like your new apartment," said Mark happily. "It's one of those expensive ones, but they're cool. Too bad none of the apartments have a kitchen."

"How do we eat then?"

"Most of the time I either go to the café or diner, but they do have a kitchen here. It doesn't have the best of food, but it's alright. Well, I'll leave you to unpacking. See you around." With that, Mark waved and left the room.

Mireli hurriedly locked the door behind him, afraid that he might come back. She didn't want that to happen. After she heard his footsteps echoing down the hall, she turned and pulled out her pajamas, discarding the rest of her luggage under her bed. She popped off her converse, put them under her bed as well, and undressed. She redressed in black sweatpants and a white t-shirt, her usual pajamas. She placed her glasses and watch on her dresser, closed the curtain over the window to block out the sun, and fell into the merciful comfort of her bed. She was glad to finally be off the ferry, falling into a lulled sleep.

Meanwhile, Chelsea and Denny had just finished… embracing, and were preparing dinner. Denny, of course, vouched for eating fish, but Chelsea was sick of having eaten it for so long already. She instead made steak and mashed potatoes, also making some batter for pancakes for Mireli. She set it in the refrigerator once it was done, and checked her refrigerator for eggs when she realized she didn't have any. "Damn," she whispered, since she'd already shipped all of the eggs from her hens. "I'll be right back Denny, I need to go to Mirabelle's for a minute."

"Ok, babe," replied Denny, walking over to their table and sitting down. "I'll make sure nothing burns." Chelsea smiled and walked out, knowing very well that he'd probably be asleep by the time she returned. She walked straight to Mirabelle's, praying that Vaughn wouldn't be there. But he couldn't be, since it was Tuesday. Chelsea smiled gratefully. She had another day before she had to see Vaughn's judgmental eyes.

Chelsea walked into Mirabelle's shop and was greeted warmly. "Chelsea!" shouted Julia, running up and hugging her tightly.

Chelsea laughed lightly and smiled again, hugging Julia back. "It's nice to see you, Julia! How are things with you and Elliot?" Julia blushed and let go of Chelsea, backing away and twiddling her fingers behind her back. She was a bit touchy about Elliot since they were dating. She was hoping for more, though.

"Everything's going very well. We're really happy. But anyway," said Juliet, quickly eyeing her mother who was quite pleased with her and Elliot's relationship, "what brings you here?"

"Uh… oh! I remember! I need to buy some eggs to make breakfast- ugh, dinner, rather." Chelsea smiled shyly.

"Why would you need eggs for dinner?" asked Mirabelle as she motioned for Julia to go get eggs.

"Well, my cousin has come to visit me for a while… a few years, most likely, and she's nocturnal. I think she would prefer some eggs and pancakes as a sort of breakfast instead of what I'm making for dinner. So, yeah." Chelsea smiled again.

"Well, that's nice. Does she look anything like you? Or act somewhat like you?"

Chelsea sighed, knowing what Mirabelle was getting at. "No, we're almost exact opposites. Is Vaughn still holding up?" It was Mirabelle's turn to sigh.

"He's not the same since you got married. But he needs to man up. Either way, I'd like to meet this cousin of yours. What's her name?"

"Mireli. You can probably catch her on her way past."

Mirabelle smiled as Julia came out of the back with a basket full of eggs. "I'll be sure to. But for now, enjoy these eggs. I hope you have a nice dinner."

Chelsea took the eggs and thanked them quickly, leaving and heading straight to her home. The islanders, especially Denny, couldn't stand the fact that Vaughn was still hung up over her. With the news of her cousins arrival, all of the islanders had been hoping she would she would somewhat resemble Chelsea so they could all find solace, especially Vaughn.

But that most likely wouldn't happen; Chelsea always believed that opposites attracted, and it had been so with Vaughn and Chelsea until Denny had swept her away. Chelsea still believed that opposites attracted, and that she and Denny had been a special case, so logically that would mean Vaughn and Mireli wouldn't be together for a while. They were just too alike.

Chelsea was ashamed to be happy about it, but she was. Vaughn was still, in a sense, hers.

Mireli woke up lazily and very slowly, yearning to stay in bed but also knowing that she shouldn't stand Chelsea up, in a sense. She got up lazily, yawning and scratching her head of brown locks. She sniffed her hair and figured she wouldn't need to shower, but wanted to just so she could scrub the salt spray from her body. She went to her new bathroom and ran hot water in the shower, scrubbing herself raw and then wrapping herself in a towel.

After she was all dried and had on her black underwear, Mireli unpacked. She put one of her suitcases, a heavy slender case, into one of the private panels inside the hollowed out dresser. Mireli had it ordered so she could hide her 'hobby' somewhere where the housekeeping couldn't mess with it.

She then dressed herself as she usually did: blue jeans, white socks, black converse, and a form fitting white shirt. She put on her glasses and gold watch before pulling on her black blazer and heading out to Chelsea's ranch.

The walk was quick and Mireli wasn't disturbed. She knocked on Chelsea's door when she arrived, and it was immediately opened by Denny who smiled happily at her, showing off pearlescent teeth. "Welcome to our home, Mireli!" Mireli nodded, which she thought was enough common courtesy, as two dogs bombarded her. The first dog was a female German-shepherd, and she immediately came up to Mireli, stretching and begging to be pet. The other was male, but also a German-shepherd. He was right behind the female. Both had pitch black fur and sparkling blue eyes.

Mireli pet both of them happily, though she didn't show it. Animals always made her happier, and especially now that her parents were gone. She was thinking about adopting a dog to accompany her.

"Come on over, Mireli!" called Chelsea suddenly, motioning her over to the table directly in front of the door. There were two seats, next to each other, with plates in front of them that held T-bone steaks and mashed potatoes. The third plate was one of pancakes and eggs, with butter and syrup in tiny cups next to the plate. Mireli smiled fondly.

"It looks great, Chelsea. I really appreciate it."

Chelsea smiled, her eyes closing. "It's no problem. Well, let's eat!" Mireli sat and ate along with the others, and they had pleasant small talk. Then Chelsea proposed something. "Why don't you get a job, Mireli?" Mireli focused on her food and thought on that. Chelsea hadn't realized that while they'd been getting things organized for her to come to the islands, Mireli had been surviving on her hobby.

So she said, "Frankly, I think I'm fine. I've saved up enough to support myself for a while, and once I find the job for me here then I'll take it. Until then, I'll be content with spending my nights reading and writing."

"O-ok." Chelsea and Denny both were surprised by her rudeness.

They finished their meals soon after that and Mireli left. She was glad to be out of the close confines of Chelsea's home. She wasn't sure what she would do or where she would go, as long as she was far away from Chelsea and Denny and their thoughts of happiness. It just wasn't her crowd.

She'd seen multiple buildings on her way to Chelsea's house, but she assumed most of them were closed by now since it was about nine o' clock. There was a bridge that the rode lead to though; beyond it Mireli could see the faint outlines of trees, and she supposed there was a forest beyond the bridge. It would be the perfect place for her to indulge in her hobby; after all, what type of a forest didn't have little creatures running around inside?

Or she could just fish all night. But she didn't have a fishing rod yet.

Mireli sat on a shipping bin just outside a yellow roofed building. She noticed the lights inside the building were on, but felt it would be rude to knock on the door. Maybe she'd waste away the night by sitting around and watching the moon.

She very well might have, if a pink haired girl and boy hadn't stepped out of the house. They were happily chatting away, and had bundles of food and eggs in their hands. They were almost stepping on her feet when they noticed Mireli. The pink haired boy looked at her suspiciously, his glasses flashing. The girl did the same, except her eyes were viewable. They both pouted, and Mireli found it cute though they were older than her. "Who are you?" asked the boy suspiciously.

Mireli contemplated just leaving or introducing herself, and decided with the latter. "My name is Mireli. I just recently moved to the islands." The boy and girl still seemed suspicious.

"Why would you be out this late, Mireli?" piped up the girl.

"Why would you?" Mireli sighed and stood stretching languidly. "Don't answer that. I was just heading out from dinner with my cousin Chelsea. I'll be leaving now." Mireli was just about to leave when the others smiled at her.

"Oh, so _you're_ the girl everyone's been talking about! Well, I'm Elliot. It's nice to finally meet you!"

The girl, however, frowned suddenly. "You don't look anything like Chelsea, though."

Elliot looked at the girl. "Don't be so rude, Natalie. So what if she doesn't look like Chelsea? You never know what might happen." Mireli furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what they were talking about, but quickly dismissed it. The boy turned back to Mireli suddenly, smiling. "Well, it was nice meeting you. I hope we'll see you more often during the day."

"That probably won't happen, since I'm nocturnal. If you see me at all, it'll be at dawn and dusk." She smiled at them, and got the usual wide-eyed reaction. "Do you know of any things I could do overnight?"

"Uhm, well, our grandpa Taro has plenty of fishing rods if you'd like one. Just come inside with us for a second," said Elliot kindly.

Mireli smiled and nodded. "That'd be wonderful, thank you." She followed them into their home, dusting off her feet before entering their house. She was immediately bombarded by a middle-aged woman in a dress with an apron on and an old man wearing overalls and a red neck tie.

"Who's this?" yelled the old man. He was bald and had a walking stick, and his eyes were closed. His mouth closed into a thin line, and all sorts of wrinkles creased his features. He wore sandals on his feet.

"Oh, Taro, don't be so mean she seems like a nice young lady," said the woman. She had pink hair that was in a ponytail, and her eyes were closed.

"Felicia, this is my house and your children are bringing total strangers into it-" Taro was interrupted by Elliot.

"Calm down, grandpa. She's Chelsea's cousin- you know. She wants a fishing pole so she can do something overnight because she's nocturnal." He then stepped closer to the old man and said so Mireli couldn't hear, "And besides, Vaughn will be arriving on the boat later today- isn't this what we've all been hoping for? A chance for Vaughn to meet someone else who interests him so everyone can be happy again."

Taro nodded and smiled, mumbling, "I understand, yes, good thinking. Well, young lady, you're welcome to any of the fishing poles you'd like. It is prime fishing season after all; in fall they're all in a rush to escape the cold. And any fish you catch can be put into that bin outside for a profit."

Mireli smiled as she was handed a fishing rod. "Thank you and my name's Mireli. I will reimburse you somehow, I promise." She left with a wave and headed down to the beach. She walked languidly along the beach for a while, until she found the dock she'd arrived on in the dark. She walked along it for a while and finally sat at the very edge, staring at the churning water. Her reflection stared back up at her, slightly warped but her nonetheless. She sighed and looked further out, where the stars and moon were reflected as well.

As her legs dangled over the edge of the dock, Mireli wondered if the sea would swallow her if she jumped in. Would anyone really notice she was gone? You wouldn't think so. Her converse clad foot dipped into the water, and she sighed and pulled it back out. _Not today,_ she mentally chanted,_ today is not your day to die. It will come._

She cast the fishing rod out, sitting patiently and waiting for a fish to bite. In what seemed like a few minutes, hours passed, and Mireli had about six healthy fish stacked up beside her. She reeled in a seventh, her lucky number, when a boat suddenly roared up beside her. She stood calmly and picked up her fish, though they were hard to handle because she didn't have a rucksack or anything to attach them to. She just wanted to get out of sight of the boat before anyone got off and noticed her.

As she crept away, she idly wondered why a boat was coming in so late. Or early, rather. It was halfway to one in the morning. She'd really thought her boat was the last one that came to the island that day.

Her escape plan was foiled when Mireli sensed someone walking up to her- someone probably much stronger and more agile than she was. And she was right. With his long stride and powerful build, the man pursuing her caught up to her in no time. "Excuse me ma'am," he said politely, "but I don't think I've seen you on this here island before."

Mireli turned around slowly, dreading meeting another person. Behind her was a man maybe a head taller than she was that looked to be about 21, with silver hair and purple eyes. He was wearing black pants and a black button up shirt and a black cowboy hat with a stripe of brown circling it. He wore a brown leather vest over his shirt, and around his neck was a white neck tie. He wore a brown belt and boots, and had on black gloves with buckles on them. Three of the fingers on the gloves had been removed.

"You haven't," said Mireli. She turned to walk away once again, but the man stopped her.

"Care to give a little explanation? I don't know what type of person you are, or where yer from. Why are you on these island's in the first place?"

Mireli let out a frustrated sigh and said, "My name's Mireli; my parents died in a car crash on the mainland, and they said in their will they wanted me to stay with my cousin Chelsea until I was 21. I'm nocturnal so I wander around at night and do stuff and I sleep all day." She left out the marriage part; it seemed like a weird topic to talk about with a man. She didn't even know whether or not he had a partner.

"So you're related to Chelsea?" asked the man, not really looking for an answer. "I don't see much of a resemblance, but that's a good thing in my book. I'm Vaughn, an animal dealer. It's nice to meet you."

"Ok, so, now can I go?"

"Not so soon; it's dangerous out here at night, you have no idea what type of people could be wandering around. I'll show you to yer living quarters."

"No thanks, it's really not necessary. After all, I'm one of those strange people that wander around at night."

"Fine, I give up." He walked away mumbling and grumbling to himself; whenever he tried to be nice, he was rejected. He walked down the beach and to the boat, beginning to unload the animals he'd brought with him.

Mireli walked off the beach and put the fish into the shipping bin as Taro had instructed, then sat and looked up at the stars. Her stomach gurgled, and she checked her watch to see it was one in the morning by then. She wondered where she could get food at that time, and let her fishing pole fall down beside her.

After about ten minutes, Vaughn came walking past with his animals. Mireli didn't mind asking for help or advice, so she called out to him.

"What do you want?" he asked harshly.

"Do you know where I could get something to eat at this time?"

"Mirabelle's pretty friendly; she might be able to make something for you… at a price of course."

"That's fine with me; lead the way please" Vaughn walked off with Mireli beside him, the cows and chickens and other animals following behind them. After a few minutes they made it to a barn like building. A horseshoe was on the door, and Vaughn entered without knocking. Mireli followed, and to her surprise, so did the animals. At the counter to her left was a woman with short yellow hair that was slightly overweight; she wore a red shirt with a blue dress over it. She was wearing glasses and looking over some papers, but didn't look up when they came in.

"Hey, Vaughn," she said instead, "Julia's already gone to bed, but I have some dinner left for you inside of the microwave just in the kitchen there. Make sure to be quiet, you don't want to wake her, she'll be grumpy as usual."

Vaughn mumbled something and then looked back to Mireli. "Come on," he said gruffly, "I'll give you some of it for twenty G."

Mirabelle looked up over her glasses, and noticed Mireli standing there behind Vaughn with a fishing pole. "Oh," she said, her eyes lit up and her curiosity peaked. "Who's this lovely young lady? Could you be, per chance, Chelsea's long awaited cousin?"

Mireli nodded. "Yes that's me, I'm Mireli. It's nice to meet you…?"

Mirabelle smiled. "Mirabelle; my name is Mirabelle. If what Vaughn's saying is correct, then you came here looking for a meal. Have no worries, you'll get a free one here. Don't let Vaughn con you out of anything." Vaughn scowled and grumbled as Mirabelle led Mireli to the kitchen while chattering away about random nonsense.

In minutes, Vaughn and Mireli were sitting across from each other on the small dining room table in Mirabelle's kitchen. "Well, I still have paperwork to do, so I'll be up front if you need anything." She left the room, but not before lighting a candle and placing it between the two. She knew it would take a while for the two to warm up to each other, maybe even fall in love, so she figured she'd might as well spur it along. A few candles and nice homemade dinners couldn't make their situation worse.


End file.
